Sharon’s Micro-Courses

Micro-courses are very short, image-rich, and interactive slide presentations about a specific topic. In each micro-course, you are directed to do certain tasks so that you will be able to remember the content longer than if you just read the slides. And each micro-course will give you dozens of ways of using the information in your own classes and with your own teaching and training topics.

Instructions for Viewing Full Screen Slides on a Computer: Click on the small slanted arrow (bottom rightof the slide screen) and use your left/right arrow keys (or the arrow icons) to advance the slides. Click on the “escape” key to exit full screen mode.

Instructions for Viewing on a Cell Phone or Tablet: Click on the title link of the Micro-Course. It will take you to SlideShare.net where you will be able to advance the slides by swiping to the left.

Instructions for Copying/Embedding the Micro-Courses: Click on the white arrow in the bottom left corner of the slide screen to copy the link or embed the presentation in a website or blog. Under the Creative Commons license, you are allowed to download and share the slide presentations as long as you cite the source and do not print, sell, nor alter them in any fashion.

For a Complimentary E-Book:Scroll to the bottom of the micro-courses to find out how to receive the little gem of a book “Presenting With Pizzazz!”

For a Complimentary E-Book “Presenting with Pizzazz!” – View one of the micro-courses above, then leave a comment about it below (at the bottom of this column). Your comment might be a short summary of the slide presentation, how you plan to use what you’ve learned, or your opinion about or reaction to the slide presentation. The little ebook is filled with quick activities to engage your learners right from the start and will be sent to you via email, once your comment has been approved and posted (usually within a day or two). Thanks, in advance, for commenting on a micro-course!

281 comments

I just watched, actually participated in your 6 trumps, very effective, and “walking the talk” I will go now and watch the others. I hadn’t heard of you or your books till my son contacted me from Pennsylvania, where he lives and works. I am heading to Amazon, right now to start my collection of your books. Training from the back of the room, is my first pick, I like the sound of it, Glad to find you, Terry

Terry: Thank you for your kind comment – made my day! I’ll get the complimentary book off to you right away so you won’t have to purchase that one on Amazon 🙂 Let me know how you like the other micro-courses. Cheers! Sharon

I loved “Movement Trumps Sitting” micro course! It gave me some ideas of what to try with my team on our team meetings, inspired me to try it right tomorrow and encouraged me to stand up and move right now 🙂 Many many thanks, Sharon!

And thanks back to you, Lillia, for your enthusiastic comment! 🙂 Glad you found the micro-course on movement helpful. I know you will also like “Move. Don’t Sit Still” by Jimmy Janlen – it is posted on my Slides from SlideShare page (look under the “Free Stuff” tab). Enjoy! Sharon

I remember the term “Bloom’s Taxonomy” from my education courses 40 years ago, but couldn’t have told you a thing about what it means. After viewing the “Bloom’s” mini course,I’ve analyzed the content, evaluated how I’ve been using it in the classroom for almost 4 decades, and am ready to create even more exciting lessons! Looking forward to meeting you in Nashville in October!

What a lovely comment, Sherri! I too, studied about “Bloom’s Taxonomy” many many (did I say many?!) years ago and yet it’s just recently that I have a deeper understanding and can now apply the concepts better (especially the HOTS!). Glad to know you’ll be joining us in Nashville in October – looking forward to meeting you F2F! 🙂 Sharon

Thanks for your kind comment, Paula. Unfortunately, I won’t be at ATD ICE this year, but please do explore all the other free content on my website – you’ll find more than enough to keep you busy and learning! Cheers! 🙂 Sharon

On “Movement Trumps Sitting”–BRILLIANT! I just knew this was true but didn’t know how to apply it in a …uh um…dignified manner for adults. I’m a yoga fanatic and simply cannot sit still. I’ve been plagued by the “sitting still” of education for years. I LOVE IT! Thanks very much indeed.

Hi Marsha: Your comment put a smile on my lips 🙂 Glad you found the slide presentation on movement helpful. Thank you for the kind comment about it being brilliant! And yes, with your being a yoga fanatic, I can certainly understand your frustration with the traditional “sit still and listen” educational paradigm – it, uh um … sucketh greatly! 🙂 Sharon

Hi Sharon. Your ‘Preventing Death By Powerpoint’ micro course made me chuckle as up until recently that was me!!! I have been learning the hard way but having discovered your site through Adventures in Agile meetup group I think you will make my life so much easier. Thank you!

Hi Carney: My apologies for the delay in getting back to you – have been traveling/training with limited access to email. The simple answer to your question is to hand students blank pieces of paper and have them make their own “graphic organizers” (view my micro-course “How to Teach It So They Learn It” for lots of graphic organizer ideas; you can also Google “graphic organizers” for more ideas). Hope this helps! 🙂 Sharon

Hello Sharon! I have benefitted for a number of years now from your brain-based insights and shared them with lots of training colleagues and pointed them in the direction of your fabulous website!

Really great that you have produced this useful micro course on Bloom and HOTS – you are right as trainers we struggle with this – I aspire to design exercises and activities utilising HOTS because often also that is what I want my learning outcomes to entail… I do struggle though to create and match accordingly!

You refer to your excellent micro course as an “introduction” to Bloom – are you in fact telling us you are going to model and facilitate further learning and ideas on Bloom and HOTS to help trainers like me to design training activities involving HOTS?!

Ah, Brigid, a sequel is a great idea and one that I had not thought of (I was simply “introducing” Bloom’s to teachers/trainers who may not have heard of his taxonomy). With that said, you might consider writing a follow-up article to the micro-course which I would, most happily, post on my website 🙂 And my deepest thanks to you for your detailed comments and compliments – made my day!!! Cheers to you and yours! Sharon

Just great insights to a modern approach to learning – joyful und evidence-based at the time! Nice work Sharon!
Following the “10-minute-rule” in order to keep learners “alive” is my key learning from your “movement trumps sitting” course.
Just ordered your book “The Ten Minute Trainer” to keep up the pace 🙂 Greetings from Germany!

Greetings to Germany from the USA, Stephan! Thank you for your detailed comments about the micro-courses you’ve found helpful (“joyful and evidence-based” made my day!). Much appreciated! Stay in touch and let me know how you like “The Ten-Minute Trainer.” The complimentary ebook is on its way. Cheers to you in Germany! 🙂

I love the idea of using graphic organizers for a handout. I’ve been struggling with how best to provide a handout while not wanting to give participants a copy of the slides at the beginning of the training.

Wow – what great information here, as i am starting an online workshop and my main concern was that people may wander off . Thank you so much and now I have bought all your books to further my learning too, cannot wait.

I found the “death by powerpoint” to have some really good information. I think I will definitely use the graphic orgainizers next time. Thanks for the information. I’m always looking for ways to keep my adult learners involved.

I watched the 5 tips for interactive webinars. It was full of great ideas. I plan to go back and watch the others. I work with volunteers who do training from time to time. I plan to share these as optional inservice learning. Thanks ps I have had your 10 minute trainer for years. A very practical book for effective learning design.

Sharon, I’m enjoying the content in your micro-courses. So far I’ve reviewed three and plan to do more. I’ll be working with the subject matter experts that deliver some of my organization’s training next week – I plan to promote your resources to them. Thank you!

Thank you, Dawn, for your feedback. I hope that your subject matter experts will find the micro-courses helpful, as well. They might also enjoy the “Slides about PowerPoint” under the “Free Stuff” tab. Cheers to you and your SMEs! 🙂

Ha! Your comment put a smile on my face, Dennis! 🙂 Tried to send the complimentary ebook your way but the email address that came with your comment is an undeliverable one (.co) so sent it to a “.com” address instead – do let me know if you received the email and ebook. Thanks!

Thanks the the presentation with LOTS of HOTS. My brain is just blooming with ideas. I just know what a seed is, what it’s made of, how to plant it, who all it’s parts work, why I’d like to plant one and what a garden I can create. Thanks Sharon. How does your garden grow?

What a lovely metaphor to walk readers through the lower and higher order thinking skills: a garden! Thanks SO much, Toddio, for your comments and image-rich summary! It would make a wonderful stand-alone slide introduction to Bloom’s – better than mine, to be sure! And with your metaphor, my (mental) garden is growing nicely! 🙂

I just went through “How to Design Great Training: Begin with the End in Mind” and was really struck by point #3, to make sure the learners have a clear idea of how they will apply what they’ve learned. I’ll be applying that in my next course delivery, in November.

I love the microlearning courses for the quick blast of ideas! I am new to the art of presenting so I am really trying to build my toolbox – these are fantastic resources! Some of my presentations are pre-prepared for me with not much room to change or elaborate and they are BORING! I am trying to figure out how I can squeak in a few of your ideas, just to add a little life to the canned presentation! Thanks so much!!!

I’m glad that you’ve found some of the ideas here helpful, Brooke. Just insert one of the short, quick “revisit” (review) activities into the pre-prepared materials every 10-20 minutes or so, and you’ll be on the way to making a HUGE difference with your learners – they will think you walk on water! Best of luck with your “new” presenting work! Sharon

How to Teach It So They Learn It – a quick, but comprehensive review of delivering the “Need to Know” in 10 minute chunks. Need to know is just that,as opposed to nice to know. You can NOT deliver all content, you must prioritize the crucial parts of your information. Also I learned a great way to obtain various graphic organizers by Googling “graphic organizers” – OMG, that is outstanding! Thank YOU!

Hi Nick: Thanks so much for the excellent summary of the micro-course you viewed – and I’m very happy that you found a number of graphic organizers on the Internet that you can use – yay! I appreciate your kind kudos! 🙂

HI Sharon, “How to Teach It so They Learn It” and some of your other micro-courses and articles have been a really useful resource for my Train the Trainer sessions. Helpful reminders for me for my own delivery, and great content to for my learners to engage with in various ways to improve their own training skills. Thanks!

I found a number of valuable tips in “Engage the Brain: 5 Ways to Create Interactive Slides”. As a curriculum developer who creates trainer guides and PPT presentations for use by multiple trainers, I am excited to have new ideas for building interaction and novelty into the presentations! Thanks for your many suggestions and illustrations.

I just viewed “How to Map Your Instruction in 4 Simple Steps” and it will serve as a great guide for me. The way you break it down into four steps is very practical and I can’t wait to try the activities. Thank you!

I just watched the slide presentation on How to Teach it so they learn it. I learned some very interesting facts that I can’t wait to try out in my classes to engage more students and get more participation!

I just viewed “How to Map Your Instruction in 4 Simple Steps” and it was a great review! I have a couple of presentations coming up, so it’s a good reminder to no simply lecture, no matter how much content I feel I have to cover. WIll definitely create my flight plans with these tools.

Well, Tom, what a lovely day we shared together, along with the other Expeditionary Center instructors – great group! Thanks for your comment (and weather report) – so glad we connected! Complimentary ebook is on its way! Sharon

Gearing Up for Blooms’s was very informative. I especially loved the verbs for learning tasks. This is helpful in creating learning objectives or activities. Thank you for offering these on your website!

I love them all. The Movement Trumps Sitting will be great for the Profession Development course I am writing. Movement makes the time go by fast. I attended your class last year at the Train the Trainer Seminar. I used some your tips in all of my training classes The Preventing Death by Lecture has been my go to book for most of them.

I like them all! Today, however, I watched “Begin With the End in Mind”. I’m right in the middle of completing preparation for a Training Boot Camp Week and happy to realize that I have been using some of these training ideas and concepts but gained more insight with regard to the take-away… That is Making sure each learner can make good use of the material taught – step 3. thanks for this!

I really loved the “verbs” for LOTS and HOTS in the Higher Order Thinking course. These are immensely helpful when creating activities. I can’t wait to read your books (just ordered from Amazon) and improving my skills and training. Thanks!

Your “Death by PP” micro course was great. There is wonderful book called the Zen of PowerPoint that also talked about these same principles but I still have a hard time convincing people that a text laden presentation is not the way to go – unless you want to put your audience to sleep? Hopefully, overtime people will start to implement more of the principles laid out in your course.

Thank you, Cynthia, for your thoughtful comments – I will look into the book you mentioned – had not heard of it. I think the best way to convince folks about changing how they use slides is to model it for them, which you are obviously doing – yay for you! Sharon

I viewed the micro-course on Preventing Death by PowerPoint. In all honesty, I had viewed it before, but it’s one of those resources that you can go back to again and again – like Star Wars Episode IV (which I have watched ~50 times in my lifetime), it just never gets old.

And that is a testimony to Sharon’s topics. From her live instruction and the tips that she provides through these courses (including this one), she is a wealth of knowledge…and if you are an instructor, you would do well by putting her suggestions into action! I have already used some of the techniques that she teaches in my training classes, and I consistently get rave reviews! Thank you, Sharon, for making me look good! 🙂 (Seriously, thank you for sharing your passion for training in such a practical and relevant way!)

I apologize, John, for the delay in responding to your lovely comments – they made my day! A writer or teacher never knows when or where ideas get picked up and put to use. Thank you for letting me know – cheers to you and yours! Sharon

I love how the slide show I watched encouraged me to engage in the same way that I would be asking my audience to engage. I was quizzed, asked to write things down, stand up, choose multiple choice and in that way it was more memorable. It quickly proved that these methods work, on me!
PS- Where did the graphics organizer info go? I have referred to it often and now I can’t find it. 🙁

Hi Jenni: Thank you for your detailed comment – I’m glad the interactive features of the slide presentation were memorable. Which one did you view? Not sure what graphic organizer you were looking for, but you can always do an Internet search for “graphic organizers” and you will find dozens of free, downloadable ones. The micro-course “How To Teach It So They Learn It” also has information about graphic organizers. Hope this helps! Sharon

I viewed: 5 ways to create interactive slides. For the longest time I had a tab always open on my phone from your website with sample graphic organizers on it. It was a constant reminder of how important it is to engage the brain of our learners. I will definitely Google to find more samples, it was just one of those ‘caught me off guard’ moments when the page wouldn’t load. Interestingly though, the fact that it wouldn’t load caused me to land on this page where I found new info. Thank you for all the resources!!

Sharon, I really enjoyed your Preventing Death by Powerpoint. I will definitely use your suggestions and I really enjoyed that you provided suggestions for free photo sites and free big fonts. I have been developing my Powerpoints all wrong.

I picked up one of Sharon’s books at a library book sale. I am so glad I did. finding her website and these micro-courses has been priceless! I am sharing with dozens of other facilitators I work with.

Julie: Please do let me know if the issue has been resolved for you – I checked the page yesterday and today (and had a tech friend check it as well) and it seems to open fine … if there is still an issue, reboot and retry and let me know if that works …

I’ve just watched “movement trumps sitting” and this has been what I do in my training sessions. I had an external observer sitting in one of my sessions and she noted the participants were very active and alert . The energy was high. Indeed movement does affect your brain and increase your ability to learn. Glad I bought your book.

It’s always helpful to get feedback from an external observer, especially when that feedback is very positive, as it was from the observer who watched one of your sessions. Thanks for sharing, Alby! Sharon

Hi Glen: I’m happy that the micro-courses are useful to you in your work – and inspiring, to boot! Speaking of your homeland, there are two outstanding “Training from the BACK of the Room” Certified Trainers in your country – I will send their contact information via email to you. More to come … Sharon

I have never really liked using PowerPoint presentations because I felt like the minute the lights went down, the participants checked out. It seemed that slide presentations encouraged passive participation and that was not my idea of teaching. A colleague suggested that I view “Preventing Death by PowerPoint!” to see if my opinion of presentations would change, and it truly has! I have already started thinking about how I can incorporate slides into a training I am putting together. Everything Sharon suggests makes perfect sense, I am so glad that she has given me a new perspective so that I can include PowerPoint slides as an interactive and exciting part of my classes. Thanks so much!

Most people just put their lecture notes on the slides and read the lecture from the wall, so you are right, Leslie: participants “check out” while remaining very passive throughout the “wall lecture.” I’m glad you viewed the micro-course on PowerPoint. And there are other great slide presentations on PowerPoint on my “Slides about PowerPoint” page. Thanks for your feedback! Sharon

Love your microlearning courses. They definitely have enlightened my thinking on learning and I am eager to try some of the methods you mentioned. I have a great interest in abandoning the traditional ways of teaching and want to broaden my horizon for the benefit of my learners. Your courses left me wanting to soak up more of your great ideas and strategies on teaching, learning and instructional design. I have become an instant super fan of Sharon Bowman’s blog and am definitely going to buy and add your books to my growing collection of resources on these topics. Thanks again and I can’t wait to get the books!!!

Jesi, I am happy that you have found the micro-courses so helpful – and it’s always nice to have an “instant super fan!” 🙂 Let me know how you use the new strategies you’re learning about. Best of luck as you abandon traditional ways of instruction! Sharon

I really enjoyed the micro-course entitled “Six Trumps: Six Learning Principles that Trump Traditional Teaching.” As I plan my next staff development, I will certainly keep these principles in mind. Great information!

I watched “Teaching Adults Anything in Four Easy Steps.” It was straightforward, to the point and interactive. There is little doubt that it is right on the mark and to have it put so specifically and clearly is a treat. This is very good and I will be watching many more of the micro courses and then putting them into practice.

Thank you Sharon for your easy to use suggestions in 5 Tips for Interactive Webinars. I’m pretty new to doing webinars and this advice will be most helpful. I look forward to reading/watching more of your material.

I just watched “Engage the Brain” and wish I had watched it ten years ago. The ideas are fantastic and I can’t wait to try them out. I am planning to watch all the others, too. Thanks so much for sharing them.

I already have the book “The Ten Minute Trainer” and have used a few of the 60 second activities and a couple of the 5 minute ones. I love love love metaphor magic! I am now tasked with taking our onsite program and turning it into an online offering and have been curious as to how to take such ideas into the online environment.

So I watched the microcourse above, “5 Tips for Interactive Webinars.” Really great! Will be using at least 3 of the tips right away. Thanks Sharon

Sharon: After viewing three of your Micro-Courses, I am more excited than ever about attending your upcoming workshop. The Six Trumps: such simple concepts yet what a difference they could make in my training!! See you in Atlanta!

Sharon, I just finished “The Six Trumps” and am amazed at how you can convey so much information in so few words? I’m taking the certification class starting Feb. 6 in Atlanta and am even more excited about this opportunity.

Within the first ten minutes of working through these mini-courses, I already had several ideas that I was putting into action for imminent training sessions. I have already created three new graphic organizers for engaging my learners with writing over listening. Thank you and look forward to seeing you next week in Atlanta!

I’m looking forward to meeting you in Atlanta, as well, Elizabeth. Thanks for your comments – glad you’re finding the mini-courses helpful. Yay for new graphic organizers! Would love to see them. Until next week – Cheers! Sharon

I love the ideas and resources you gave as examples. I have a follow-up question about development and delivery time. How do you persuade SMEs and peers who do not want to hear about brain science that taking more time (in a class) to add in activities will have a positive effect on “performance”.

Hi Deborah – My short answer is: You don’t persuade them. Long answer is: You invite them to experience the activities and then facilitate a discussion about interactive approaches to instruction versus lecture-based instruction. You also begin “priming” their brains with short articles, slide presentations, and book excerpts that introduce them to brain-based instruction. It’s a huge paradigm shift for many SMEs and it will take time for them to become used to delivering content in a way that is different from what they are used to doing. Hope this answer helps. I’ll send the complimentary ebook via email, along with this response – we can continue this discussion there, if you wish. Cheers! Sharon

Sharon, great tips for “Preventing death by Powerpoint”, it is always great to have a reminder of this. We all know how we feel when we see that a presentation that is PPT driven and always excited when we are encouraged to participate. Good reminder and tips!

Sharon, Thanks for your wonderful work. It’s very helpful and almost essential to teach Agile topics. All of your presentations are great. The 6 Trumps presentation is right on spot. My two cents that I learned from a great professor while teaching at a State University:
A. When the students get their hands dirty (tangible stuff) their engagement level and brain involvements goes up sharply and so does the retention.
B. (Short) Video clips particularly involving cartoons / animated characters, pets and kids with a complementing background music garners high attention and can add variety to a boring topic. Thanks!

Greetings, Kamlesh: I’m glad that you like the micro-courses. And thanks for your great tips – my website readers will be sure to use them. I agree with you that interaction is absolutely crucial to Agile training – can’t teach about teams without having the class work together in teams! The e-book is on its way – Cheers! Sharon

Hi, Sharon! I’m registered for class with you at the 2015 conference in Atlanta, and am very excited about it now that I have seen virtually all of your presentations! I watched the Six Trumps, and have already begun to incorporate the graphic organizer for our newly revised training program as we have mostly Millenials and a seriously un-exciting (to them) topic. Thank you for providing the jump start I need!

Thanks so much, Jaye, for your happy introduction – please do make sure that we connect when we’re at the Training 2015 class in a couple of weeks – glad you will be joining us! And glad, too, that you have found the micro-courses helpful. See you soon!

I love your presentations, Sharon! I have watched just about all of them, and I am working on incorporating your ideas into my technical trainings. Every time I go through one of your slideshares, I get one or two sudden inspirations for activities or ways that I can update my material to keep participants more engaged. “Preventing Death by Power Point” has been a huge help!

I watched “Different Trumps Same” and it has helped me understand to make changes throughout the training to keep the learners attention. I did not realize the importance of that until this micro-course. It definitely shows that adding color and movement and change will make a difference. Thanks for all the ideas.

You’re welcome, Jennifer – and my thanks to you, for the kind comments. I think “Different Trumps Same” is my favorite micro-course – I often review it to remind myself of the importance of changing things up. Enjoy the complimentary e-book!

I just looked at “How to Map Your Instruction in 4 Simple Steps”. It was a good reminder of the things I had read in the book and although I have no idea how the map will be received (it’s quite different from a typical agenda) I plan to try it in my next training.

Yes, Irene, it’s quite different from a typical agenda because it’s brain-based (that is, based on how the brain learns best) and not based on a “traditional” instructor-centered or content-centered model. Please do let me know how your next training goes when you have a chance to use the 4Cs Map. The complimentary e-book is on its way – enjoy! Sharon

Thanks so very much. Just discovered your book and website what a blessing! Appreciate tips on keeping thirty or more adults engaged during 6 weeks of modules with key facts and data requiring individual reading assignments. Appreciate graphic organizer idea to use for notes and will implement with flip charts as groups summarize and do teachbacks…appreciate other tips…can’t wait to receive the two books ordered. Preparing for this task to keep learners engaged with so much material is a huge task. Thanks for tips! BJ

Thanks so much, BJ, for your enthusiastic and helpful comments – I am sure that other readers will appreciate knowing how you are using some of the tips and tools from this site. The complimentary e-book will reinforce what you already know – Cheers! Sharon

I watched the microcourse on “Preventing Death By PowerPoint”. There were several ideas that I plan to implement, but the biggest “Ah-hah!” was that having the slides printed loses participant interest. I am looking at other ways I can encourage to follow along and take notes without having all the information handed to them. Thanks!

Hi Julie: That was an “Aha!” for me, as well, when I first learned that a trainer should NOT hand out copies of the slides before a class – made sense, though, and I totally changed my approach to note-taking after that 🙂 I think you will find more “Ahas!” in the complimentary e-book too. Cheers! Sharon

This comment is from Agile Coach Srinath Ramakrishnan, from Chennai, India: “I recently read your book and the slideshare presentations reinforced the ideas referred to in the book. I used the 4Cs in one of my meet-up presentations and I thought the presentation went off very well. I do plan to use the 4Cs in a structured manner in all my future training programs. Thanks to you and your methods for making training an enjoyable experience for both the trainer and the participants.”

My thanks back to you, Srinath, for your email, and for letting me know that you received the complimentary e-book. Cheers for 2015! Sharon